Some things I've made lately...

Well I've been monogramming and appliqueing up a storm lately! I have atleast 10 friends having babies this summer. I've really enjoyed making them their own special things.

I appliqued the lemon on this little striped onesie for a friend's baby shower and added the baby's name.

And I also monogrammed this precious blanket! Avie had a "blankie" similar to this...furry on one side, satin on the other.

Ok, so this is actually for my own baby. Nana bought her this little dress for like $6 at Ross a while back, so I monogrammed it and the bloomers and...VOILA! (oh, and Lindsay, I love this font! Thanks!)

Ooh, I loved this one. $3 onesie from Wal-Mart and a lobster applique...too cute!


...and an appliqued froggy burpie

Oh, and this is for me. I got these burnt orange linen cocktail napkins from the Townsend House a few weeks ago. I wanna say were like $8 each and then 75% off...so I bought all they had! I use them as coasters.

My friend Lisa's niece is having twin girls. She asked me to monogram a bunch of things for them for a shower. She wanted to give her a bunch of monogram stuff...this was my first big job! (yes, I'm doing this as a little side business so let me know if you need anything!)

I did 2 little beanies.

And 2 linen pillows...

And 2 linen bibs (they're so pretty and dressy!)...do you like the shadow of my fingers in the pic? Nice!

And bloomers with their first and middle names on them!

...and of course, pink blankets. These are so cozy!

And I know the mama of the twins, so I made her something from me! These birdies remind me of Avie's Potterybarn bedding.

Ok, in my last post I mentioned making Avie and Caroline matching outfits. Here they are! I appliqued an octopus onto a $3 Target tank! I got these little polka dot sailor capris at Ross for like 4 bucks! How cute did this turn out?! Thanks, Lindsay, for the applique!

What's Been Goin' On Lately...

Well I haven't blogged in a while. My internet connection at home is extremely slow...I live in the country kinda. Thought I'd do several posts in one to save time. It literally takes about 10 minutes to load 5 pics! Let's see what's been goin' on lately!

Our good friends Paige and Russell and their 2 babies (Harrison and Bailynn) came over for dinner last week. Harrison is 17 months and Bailynn is 5 months (right, Paige?...they were both born in January...a year apart!). Harrison and Avie stayed entertained with toys, but Bailynn is still too little to get in the floor and play so we thought we'd try Avie's favorite...the Jumperoo! Avie started it at 3 months (with a blanket stuffed behind her)! We put Bailynn in it and we think she liked it!

And Avie played in the floor!

...in this dress! Her $6 Wal-Mart dress I monogrammed. (Thanks Lindsay for the idea!)

Avie likes to play with my monogramming machine presser foot. This was Sunday after church...in her sweet sailor dress from Nana!

I won this smocked dress on ebay (new with tags!)...it's The Wizard of Oz!

We went to the camp for Memorial Day. We have an annual Johnston Family Reunion there every Memorial Day. We had a terrible scare that day before the reunion! Avie was sitting on the bed (I was RIGHT there!) and leaped off, head-first on the concrete floor. It was the loudest "conk" I've ever heard! I FREAKED OUT! I seriously thought she had cracked her skull...and hits like that can trigger seizures, so given her history, I couldn't just wait this out and see how she was an hour later. I had turned my back for 2 seconds to zip up my make-up bag and she just jumped so quick! I never put her on the bed because she's so mobile now, but I was standing right on the edge of the bed with her. It just happened so fast. I jerked her up (I think I cried more than she did!), got her a bottle, jumped in Chad's truck with her in my lap (Britney-style) and sped down to the Johnston Pavilion (15 seconds down the road where the reunion was and where Chad was). There were people all in the road and they're were NOT moving, so I threw the truck in park and jumped out and called for Chad. He got in the truck (we buckled Avie in her carseat, I promise!) and we rushed an hour and a half to St. Francis ER. Needless to say, she was absolutely fine and laughing and playing the whole way there. The doc said not to worry, she hit the thickest part of her skull. She didn't have so much as a bruise or a bump! Thank you Lord! We headed back to the reunion and had a wonderful rest of the day. I got the Mother of the Year Award that day, dontcha think? Avie forgave me!

This is Avie and Pops on her first 4-wheeler ride! (She and Caroline wore matching outfits I made...I'll post that next!)

And this is Avie playing with magazines in my bathroom. She SHREDS them! It's pretty cute, and messy!

And after a long day yesterday (she's got a snotty nose and a mild ear infection), this is how I found her when I checked on her. I guess she couldn't decide if she wanted to sleep on her tummy or her side...so she did both. I had to uncover her and take pics of this!

And this morning, she played and played!!!

...and tried to pull up on the couch! That's something the OT is working on with her.

I got a cute grin from my little snot-face!

Who's that baby lookin' in the mirror??

We sing this song at our house "Who's that baby lookin' in the mirror? Who's that baby looking back at you? Who's that baby lookin' in the mirror...that baby looks just like you!". Avie is amused by mirrors...as I'm sure most babies are. She crawls around on my bathroom floor in the mornings while I'm getting ready. And THIS is her favorite thing to do!

Ok, I know, "gross" that I let my child play on the floor by the toilet. But I swear, our floors are spic and span clean!

Welcome baby Olivia!

My friends Jessie and Rett welcomed their first child Friday night. Baby Olivia Jane Hamby was born around 7:30 pm and weighed 6 lb. 5 oz. She is ADORABLE! Congratulations Jessie and Rett. You are going to make wonderful parents. Enjoy every moment...she won't be this tiny for long!

Poverty Point

This past weekend we went on our first weekend getaway since we had Avie. Avie didn't go...I missed her terribly, but it was a much-needed weekend of fun and relaxation with Tim and Emmy (my twin brother and his wife). Tim rented this cabin LAST July before Avie was born. They have a 4-year-old and a 9 month old (she's 26 days younger than Avie), and originally I think we planned on taking the kids. When it came down to it, we decided that we just needed some grown-up people time! The guys took a vacation day Friday and went down early (it's only in Delhi, so it's not that far). Emmy and I came after I got off work. When we got there, the guys were grilling for us. We ate and then went fishing. Me and Emmy caught a few! The next morning, the guys went fishing and the girls went to Vicksburg to the outlet mall. We had a good time! When we got back, we just relaxed on the deck with a magazine while the guys were still fishing. They came back and grilled THE BEST FILETS EVER! We were gonna go fishing after dinner, but the bottom fell out of the sky and we got rained out for the rest of the weekend. We opted for a game of couple on couple Cranium. Tim and Emmy won...but yall just wait til next time!

This is the back of our cabin. Yeah, it's IN the water. I didn't know that til we got there. It was awesome.

And this is looking from our deck up to the pier where we parked. You walk down this little boardwalk to get to the cabin.

And this is the view from our cabin to the next cabin.

There was a screened-in porch and then a covered deck and an area where you can pull your boat up. Then there was this uncovered area on the deck where you can grill. Doesn't get much better.

And a view of the peaceful water. It was absolutely serene.

I didn't get any pics of the inside of our cabin...I guess I just forgot! If you click here, you will see exactly what they're like. The main attraction was the deck. It was amazing. We WILL be going back!!!

Mother's Day and Avie's Baby Dedication

Avie's Baby Dedication happened to be on Mother's Day. I thought that was pretty special. I got to dedicate my child to God on my first Mother's Day. It was a wonderful weekend. It started with Friday, Chad and Avie went shopping for a gift for me (the "H" flag in the pics...I'd wanted one for a while but once Avie got here, I forgot about stuff for me!). Since they weren't home, I thought I'd do a little shopping and have some "me" time. Funny, they made it home before I did! Saturday, we headed to Ruston to see Tata, Nana, and Pops. And then Sunday...I got up with Avie and spent some one on one with her (she's the reason I celebrate Mother's Day anyway). When daddy got up, he gave me my present! We took our time getting ready for church and let Avie get her nap. Then it was off to baby dedication! Our families were there to witness Avie's special dedication. We didn't get pictures because the whole family had to go up there. But my friend Amanda videotaped it for us! We took some pics once we got home...

Like my flag??

Nonna and Avie



Tata and Avie

Daddy and Papa visiting...

Grandmama and Mamaw

4 generations...

Nana and Nonna

Aunt Jess and Avie

Avie and Nana

Avie and Tata again!

"Happy Mother's Day, Mama!", says Avie.

The ones I love the most...

And when it was naptime, this is what Avie wanted to do...

...sit in daddy's big chair and play with batteries...